Deal with him according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace. – 1 Kings 2:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 23, 2016): 1 Kings 2

Pointy ears, incredible strength and fiercely logical, he is one of the best-known Number Twos of our culture. He was also loyal to his Captain. When offered a captaincy of his own, he decided to stay as the loyal subordinate. His name, of course, was Mr. Spock of the Star Trek Universe. And like many real number twos, he was a complex character. Number Twos are never simple people to understand. A good number two needs to be loyal to the one that he serves, and yet there are times when, for the protection of the Number one, he has to do things that maybe the boss does not understand or would never command. Sometimes, they can seem to be disobedient, but only in moments when they are protecting the one who they serve. Mr. Spock seemed to walk this line well. Of course, he was only a fictional Number two.

King David’s number two was a man named Joab. And Joab was a very complex character. As David knew him, he was fiercely loyal, but he was also not known for his obedience. Several times, over his time with David, he disobeyed his boss, but usually because he was trying to protect the king – exactly as he should have.

But one of those disobedient incidents was Joab’s murder of David’s son, Absalom - against the orders of David. There is no question that the motive for Joab’s crime was the protection of the king. Absalom had actively rebelled against his father. He aspired to be king, and as the oldest surviving son of David, Absalom might have believed that ascending to the throne was his right, even if dear old dad had decreed that position go to someone else. But Joab’s murder of Absalom was probably an act of disobedience that David had found hard to forgive.

Some have wondered why David refused to make a move against Joab during his life. The most obvious reason is that David understood Joab’s value as a number two and that Joab’s disobedience was in his own favor. Maybe he even understood that Absalom’s death was a necessary act in order to protect the throne of David. But some have openly wondered if there might have been another reason. Joab was one of the inner circle of people who knew of David’s role in the death of Uriah, his wife Bathsheba’s first husband. Is it possible that David felt he could not move against keeper of that secret?

Whatever the reason, David makes it clear that he does not expect his son to honor the agreement with Joab. In fact, he seems to want Solomon to punish David’s second for his action. He might have feared that Joab would not be as loyal to Solomon, who was after all the son of Bathsheba, as he was to David. And so David frees Solomon hands and asks him to follow his own wisdom in dealing with Joab - so that the throne of David could continue.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 37